Michael Shank, Scuderia Corsa Secure IMSA Entries for 24H Le Mans
The entries, awarded at-large by the American sanctioning body, were confirmed in the 2016 Le Mans sporting regulations, which was released by the ACO today.
It confirms the much-anticipated Le Mans debut for Michael Shank, which is expected to field a Ligier JS P2 for Ozz Negri, John Pew and a third, to-be-confirmed driver in LMP2.
Shank previously told Sportscar365 he plans to lease a Ligier for the event, in order to keep his Ligier-Honda stateside for its full-season WeatherTech SportsCar Championship campaign.
2015 IMSA GTD champions Scuderia Corsa, meanwhile, is set to return to Le Mans for the second consecutive year following its GTE-Am class podium finish in 2015 with Townsend Bell, Bill Sweedler and Jeff Segal.
It’s unclear whether the entry will be used for GTE-Pro or GTE-Am; the team recently announced a GTLM-class Ferrari 488 GTE program for the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup races.
Sweedler, meanwhile, is understood to still own the 458 Italia GTE car they used last year, which could be used for a similar program in 2016.
However, Sweedler has been upgraded from Bronze to Silver driver rating for 2016, which would rule out the exact lineup returning to GTE-Am next year.
Additional IMSA-based entries are expected to come from reigning GTE-Pro class winners Corvette Racing, Ford Performance Chip Ganassi Racing and Riley Motorsports, subject to selection by the ACO.
The full list of 58 entrants to next year’s race will be revealed on Feb. 5, alongside the full-season entry lists for the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series. John Dagys/Sportscar365